With the release of Keith Hudson's 'The Hudson Affair' I could not see either 'Rasta Country' / 'National Anthem' (Clocktower Classics / Abraham) 7" or 'Turn The Heater On' / 'Version' (Conqueror / Atra) 7" included on the track list.

'Rasta Country' is a brilliant single with an excellent stereo dub side. Production credits go to Brad Osbourne. Did Brad Osbourne produce this one and is that the reason it is not on the 'The Hudson Affair' (not a Hudson production)?

I always thought 'Turn The Heater On' was a Hudson production but the label only mentions Exec. Producer Brent Clarke.

Can anyone clarify or confirm the details (including year of original release)?

Rasta Country is a track on Rasta Communication, released in the UK through Greensleeves. The CD re-release includes the following credits (for the whole album):

Produced and Arranged by Keith HudsonRecorded in Jamaica at Randy's and Channel One StudiosEngineers Clive Chin / L MackenzieAlso Recorded in London at Chalk Farm StudiosEngineer Sid BucknorRemixed at King Tubby's StudioEngineer Prince Jammy

And Ernie B has been advertising the song as a 7" recently, but I haven't bought it yet so wouldn't know if it's identical to either the one you mention (with the dub) or the one on the album.

The date of copyright on the CD is 1978 except for the bonus track (not Rasta Country) that was taken from a 1979 Discomix.

The copy of Rasta Country you have will say prod. by B Osbourne as its on Clocktower (US issue) and I believe he had a habit of crediting himself on his label, and this may also be the reason for the stereo sound. Rasta Country also came out in JA (Wild Flower) and UK (K&B). Orig release date 1976 and these are KHudson productions.

The LP & 7" cut of "rasta country" are totally different - the clocktower 7" is much harder cut without the cheesy synths that appear on the LP. They may be the same recording but totally differnt mix.

There are many tracks ommitted from this set, mainly of course because Hudson put out too much to fit on a double CD.

A few tracks that would have been nice to include if there was space-
Dennis Alcapone - Run Run (killer cut to Ken Boothe)
Dennis Alcapone - Exotic Touch Of Hot Skin (for the title alone Alcapone on a rough Rocksteady rhythm)
K.Hudson - Old Fire Stick (bad tune!)

And a few tracks we should be gratefull wouldn't fit-
Ken Boothe - Mr Tamborine Man (poor choice for a cover)
Dennis Alcapone - Flying machine (one rhythm I could live without)
Zap Pow - Reggae Limbo (flip side of the killer Broken Contract but totally forgettable).

Though it's difficult to fault the selections on "Hudson Affair" and I'm sure it will go down as the definitive Hudson retrospective, I was disappointed by the absence of the K Hobson production 136 Stamma Style and its version 135 ET Special.

In fact I thought I recalled seeing a preview of the tracklist on the old B&F board, which had those two tracks included, but perhaps that's just my memory deceiving me, and there is now no way of checking as the old board archives are not currently available for searching.

In any case Hudson Affair has to be the most eagerly-anticipated reggae retrospective of the year so max respect to those involved in putting it together.

Strange things sometimes happen on the Trojan "forthcoming releases" section...like the Tappa Zukie produced Horace Andy 12" that was supposed to be released shortly but suddenly dissapeard completely...

Tim - Chris did mention the movie in his RC article, but there wasn't a picture of the poster. I've just re-read the article and apparently 'The Erotic Touch of Hot Skin' also gets a mention from Dave Barker in 'Shocks 71'.